When the last Whatsapp update came around intorducingtheWhatsapp stories feature, many people were mad because while the Whatsapp stories wasn't a bad addition, it was brought in to replace the old favorite Text status.

Users immediately showed their displeasure, rating Whatsapp low on the playstore mostly because of the loss of the text status feature. The feedback has been so overwhelming that Whatsapp have been forced to bring the text feature back with the new update.

To get it all you have to do is download the update on your phone, open WhatsApp and tap on the Settings option, head to the “About and phone number” section and set a text status—just as you used to before. You can set a text-based status, or choose from default status options such as Available, Busy and Urgently call only.

With the new update both the Whatsapp stories and the old text based status can be used in tandem or a user can choose the one they prefer.

The re-addition of the basic status feature is now rolling out for the Android devices, and the app update can be downloaded from the Play Store. The same update will be available for Apple’s iPhones soon, though no specific date is available as yet.

Android 8.0 is coming, that much's for sure and while the 7.0 Nougat is just about 5 months, we still expect the new update soon.

Reports indicate that Google will unveil the next Android version (8.0) at I/O 2017 on May 17. Expected to be called Android O, a recent report suggests that the new operating system could include three new smart features.

The first of these 3 is what's called the ‘Copy Less’ feature which could help you save some stress when copy pasting. What this feature is expected to do is get your Android to detect relevant information that the user might want to copy. So say you and a friend are discussing where to have dinner and you find somewhere good in an app, when you go back to your conversation and type “it’s at,” one automatically generated suggestion in Gboard would be the restaurant’s address.” This, of course, reduces the whole thing of copy and pasting relevant info.READ: HOW TO GET INSTANT APPS WORKING ON YOUR ANDROIDThe second feature is one that's already in use with Apple’s iOS. The iPhone messaging app automatically detects an address from a message, and tapping on it launches the Maps app to point you to the location. While the feature isn’t available on Android at present, it could debut with Android O.

The last but by no means the least will reportedly bring finger gesture features to the Android from inception. Manufacturers like Huawei, LG and others have added gesture features where drawing ‘C’ opens the camera app, ‘M’ opens the music app and so on. The same is also available on custom ROMs such as Lineage OS, Cyanogen OS, OxygenOS and more. Now, this could soon come as a part of the Android OS.

So May is like a couple of months away, we'll probably know more as time goes on, but it's difficult not to get excited.

So it's not been really long since Apple moved their iPhones from pin style accessories to Lightning compatible hardware (2012) and you'd think that would be that for a while at least.

But alas, a report in the Wall Street Journal suggests that Apple is getting ready to drop the port in favor of USB-C.

Apple introduced the Lightning connector back in September 2012 (you'd say 5 years is a long time, but is it?) along with the iPhone 5 and since then it has become the standard port for all iOS devices. For the Mac though, it seems Apple is being a tad more progressive shifting away from the MagSafe and Thunderbolt to the USB-C port.

Apple pulls in money from licensing the Lightning port through its "Made for iPhone" program so a shift is a bit strange.

But it seems like Apple will be creating a new division in its iPhone line, opening up the scope for new peripherals and apps, this could also have the potential issue of causing some chaos with a new port.

The move (if true) could be a brave one from Apple and will definitely lead to speculation that Apple wants to create a separate "iPhone Pro" line.

We could also see Apple adding USB-C to the iPad, and thus taking the device more in the direction of being a more fully-featured tablet computer to compete with the likes of Microsoft's Surface line.

If it does turn out to be true, it will raise an interesting debate as to Apple's plans for the lightning connector, but i guess there's still time.

An 18-year-old woman, Brianna Olivas of Tucson, Arizona posted a video on Wednesday, 22nd February that has gone viral and freaked the collective internet.

The video shows an iPhone 7 Plus beside a white sink with smoke emanating from it as it melted away.

The video, which was apparently recorded by her boyfriend, has been viewed over 1.26 million times, 18,000 retweets and hundreds of replies.

When she couldn't turn on her device she figured there was some trouble and she proceeded to then take the iPhone 7 Plus, which she bought in January, to an Apple Store where employees ran tests and told her everything was fine.

things were fine for a while and then boom! The next morning the phone caught fire.

In Brianna's words “The next morning I was asleep with my phone charging next to my head, my boyfriend grabbed the phone and put in on the dresser,”

According to The Mashable she said. “He went to the restroom and from the corner of his eye he saw my phone steaming and heard a squealing noise. By the time he got over to the phone it had already caught fire, he quickly grabbed the phone and threw it in the restroom, as soon as he threw it in the restroom, it blew up and more smoke started coming out of the phone,” she added.

Olivas has returned the device to Apple and she says that the representatives have told her that they are conducting tests and expect to know more within a week.

The new iPhone is being reported in many quarters to cost upwards of $1000 upon release-- a thousand dollars is a lot of money and it is only natural for potential buyers to wonder and speculate over what they'll actually get.

Apple hasn't helped in this regard as over the last ten years they has had an odd habit of being dodgy with the cost of internal storage.

An example, the flash storage chip inside the iPhone normally costs Apple $20 but it’s stuck with a base level of 16GB of storage for the longest time, only recently springing for a 32GB base option with the iPhone 7.

Now with alll the stuff we usually dump on phones, once we're done with the initial OS, and a few knick knacks space is gone.

Sure, you can buy iCloud storage for a couple bucks a month, but the more logical solution for Apple would be to have a base option to 64GB, much like most flagship Android phones.

And that may very well be the case

According to a supply-chain report from TrendForce the new flagship iPhone 8 will ship with 64GB or 256GB of internal storage. If that's true then that's value for your $1000

The same report suggests the the still-new-but-cheaper iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will both retain the 32GB entry-level option, although the top end will still be 256GB.

So err...all in all i guess you'd say this is good news. Don't worry, memory won't be all the iPhone 8 will be good for as it'll also have a dual-camera system much like the one found on the iPhone 7 Plus, an all-glass front display with minimal bezel, and quite possibly no physical buttons.

It must suck to be Blackberry or Windows right now as the latest smartphone figures coming out from Gartner makes for extremely grim reading for them.

According to the figures, iOS and Android are the 2 undisputed kings of the market and account for an insanely high 99.6 percent of all smartphone sales in the fourth quarter of 2016.

This isn't really new as iOS and Android have been ruling the market for a while now, but the numbers do make for fascinating reading.

Of the 432 million smartphones sold in the last quarter, 352 million ran Android (81.7 percent) and 77 million ran iOS (17.9 percent), but what happened to the other players? Well, in the same quarter, Windows Phone managed to round up 0.3 percent of the market, while BlackBerry was reduced to a rounding error. The once-great firm sold just over 200,000 units, amounting to 0.0 percent market share.

It's pretty remarkable when you consider that a little while ago (3 years) analysts were predicting that Microsoft’s mobile OS would overtake iOS for market share in 2017, while BlackBerry would still be hanging around as a sizable (if small) player.

In this latest report, there's no mention of Microsoft growing or catching up tp the Android or iOS, but it is speculated that the smartphone market continues to shift.

When the iPhone 7 came out, it was high priced especially for Nigerians who were going through a recession. It immediately became a status symbol, anyone who owned an iPhone 7 was automatically seen as a 'Big boy'. well, the iPhone 8 is looking to blow that out of the water.

New reports indicate that with all the new features coming with the new iPhone, it WILL NOT be cheap. According to Fast Company, the 10th anniversary iPhone - which might go by the name iPhone X - could go for as much as $1,000 (about £800/N500,000).

Considering that the 256GB iPhone 7 Plus already goes for $969, the idea of a thousand dollars or more isn't ridiculous.

With that said, this could mean that Apple will be releasing their most expensive product till date.

Why will the iPhone 8 be so expensive, though, it can't be that dope can it? Well it seems that it can Let's look at what it has shall we.

The iPhone 8 according to reports going to have a curved AMOLED screen along with a 5.8-inch screen.

There's also increased memory, a new sensing technology, and a better camera, are also rumored, all of which could further bump up the smartphone's production costs.

We won't know for sure how much to shell out until Apple gives the word later this year, but we anticipate there being different models - namely the iPhone 7S, iPhone 7S Plus and iPhone 8 - to give customers a chance to opt out of more expensive features, similar to the dual-lens camera exclusive to the iPhone 7 Plus.

Top jailbreak expert, Luca Todesco has reportedly released a beta 7 of his Yalu102 jailbreak tool and the changelog specifically stated that all 64-bit iPhones and iPads are now supported except the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

That may not always be the case as Todesco himself stated according to WCCFTech, "The iOS unlocking tool for iPhone 7 will be updated at some point."

While Todesco did not mention when exactly the iPhone 7 crack will arrive it is relatively safe to assume that his statement means that Yalu102 will work with the latest iPhone models soon enough.

His tweet said,

To clear it up: Yalu1011 for iPhone 7 will be updated at some point. Just not a priority right now. Got stuff to do.

— qwertyoruiop (@qwertyoruiopz) February 1, 2017

The report also noted,"All those who might have lost hope should see this is a light at the end of the tunnel."

According to a report on 9to5 Mac, the new iOS 10.3 beta update will bring to the fray some new apps that include:"Find My AirPods" and others. What this would be able to do is locate the devices mentioned on the app's names.

That's not all, Safari's Reduced Motion preference in web apps was also added as was a new "Music App" on "Podcasts" app, and new Apple File System (APFS) support.

One feature that is sure to get users excited is the floating keyboard which is designated for smaller iPads. For now, it can be enabled through code settings in 7.9 or 9.7-inch iPads.

The debate as to which OS trumps the other between the Google's Android and Apple's OS will continue to rage as long as both systems exists, it does seem that Apple is winning-- or at least they are in the eyes of the British military.

According to a new report from TechRepublic, the UK Ministry of Defence recently have chosen Apple’s iPhone 7 as the “device of choice” for sensitive communications that warrant the utmost security against malicious actors.

Also reported is that BT, England's communication giant is already doing their utmost to heighten the security safeguards on the iPhone 7 for military and defense personnel.

Once done, the users of these secured iPhones will be able to adjust the security mode of their device depending on the level of sensitivity a particular communication demands. The report also adds that BT is also working on methods to develop “secure storage containers” for top-secret data.

From the looks of things though it seems like the initial plan was to work with the Samsung Note 4. According to Steve Bunn, BT’s technical business manager for defence, work on a secured communications device was initially with Samsung.

“But as more and more development and testing was done,” Bunn explained, “the security associated with it wasn’t deemed to be sufficient, so that’s why we moved [to iPhone].”

Now this seems like a slight on Samsung, so to make nice BT issued a follow-up statement indicating that the Note 4’s security wasn’t inadequate.

“We would like to clarify that the MoD has not expressed any views about the suitability of dual-persona technology from specific handset/technology vendors and is prototyping a range of devices,”

Prometheus, the tool that allows downgrade or upgrade to an unsigned iOS firmware, has been released and this news has gotten a lot of techies excited especially with all the possibilities it promises.

So how do you use it? The first thing to note is that you must have your SHSH2 blobs saved for the firmware version you are downgrading or upgrading to. If you haven’t saved your SHSH2 blobs already then go do so.

The next thing you'd need to note is that the tool works on 64-bit devices at this moment in time and support for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is somewhat broken.

So knowing that you can move forward. It's not all gloom though as support for more devices is on the way.

So what Prometheus will let you do is to upgrade from iOS 9.x to iOS 10.x with ease, and within different versions of iOS 9.x. However, you cannot downgrade from iOS 10.x to iOS 9.x. If you were planning on doing so, then you might want to put things to rest.

And finally of note is that Prometheus works for both jailbroken and non-jailbreak devices, which is huge!

And lastly (seriously) is that it's only available for the Mac at the moment, but not to fear, Windows and Linux versions will be out soon enough.

Check out the tutorials below and soon you'll be a pro at upgrading or downgrading your device. I think it is necessary to note though that if you have no idea how this works or what this is, you should seriously consider giving a pro so as not to damage your iOS device.

The battle of the phones rages on with Apple and Samsung constantly trying to one up each other.

At the moment though it seems Apple is leading the way in terms of processors with Qualcomm and Samsung unable to outperform Apple’s A-series mobile chips. The iPhone 7 is the undisputed king when it comes to mobile performance, both in benchmark tests and real-life use. Even the 2015 iPhone 6s is still able to beat 2016 flagships in real-life CPU performance.

In 2017, a new generation of phones and processors will flood the market and the battle will kick off anew and from the looks of things, Apple still has the edge.

An An Tu Tu benchmark test for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor found by Phone Arena shows a score of more than 180,000 points. That’s impressive, considering that the Snapdragon 835 isn’t even out yet. The processor is expected to power most of next year’s Android-based flagship handsets, including the version of Samsung’s Galaxy S8 that will be sold in the US.

And while this is great and all, more noteworthy is the fact that this score only tops Apple’s iPhone 7 by less than 10,000 points. Now this isn't the finished product and those might be better, but, Apple’s A11 chip that will go into the iPhone 8 next year will undoubtedly top that score by a big margin.

Samsung’s next Exynos chip and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 CPU will both be made using 10nm process technology. That means we’re looking at significant performance and energy efficiency improvements. The Snapdragon 835 alone should be 27% faster than predecessors and 40% more efficient. However, Apple’s A11 is also going to be a 10nm processor. So we’d expect it to do better than rivals in both benchmark tests and in actual usage scenarios.

Galaxy or Apple, what is sure is that next year will be amazing on the smartphones front and we can only wait with bated breath as the new devices that will take over our lives are launched.

Some iPhone 6s users have found it hard going with their batteries for a while, experiencing shutdowns and so on.

Apple has come out to say that they are working on the issue. They say it was caused due to some batteries being exposed to "controlled ambient air" during manufacturing -- while also expanding the scope of the affected range of customers facing the problem.

In the original message, Apple noted that "a small number" of iPhone 6s smartphones made in September and October of 2015 were facing unexpected shutdowns due to their prolonged exposure to controlled ambient air. Now, Apple said that it's discovered a few customers "outside of the affected range" who have also been facing unexpected shutdowns of their iPhone 6s devices meaning that the battery problem might be more widespread than initially thought.

Apple has now tasked themselves with preparing an iOS update that it said will introduce an "additional diagnostic capability" so the company can gather information and improve its ability to manage the battery performance levels and untimely shutdowns. The update, presumably iOS 10.2, will be made available sometime next week, and Apple mentioned that if any improvements and solutions are discovered thanks to the diagnostic tool, "they will be delivered in future software updates."

A short nasty video has been causing iPhones and iPads to crash after a period of instability when watched

Playing a mp4 video in Safari on any iOS device will cause the device to slow down and then freeze in about 30 seconds. The video itself is hosted on a Russian Vine-like video sharing app called Miaopai.

The exact cause of the problem is as yet unknown, it is believed though that a corruption in the file is causing a memory leak in Safari.

The video itself is only 3 seconds long and it shows someone standing by a bed with the word “Honey” printed across the screen. The bug doesn’t immediately brick a phone but starts slowing it down after 30 seconds.

There's a YouTube video by Everything Apple Pro which gives a rather detailed explanation of how the glitch works on the bright side, the effects don't seem to be long term also it doesn’t affect users of Android devices.

Should a user’s phone be affected by the video, a hard reboot by holding the power and home buttons should restart the device. On iPhone 7 with the non-mechanical button, users will have to press the power and volume down button. The issue affects versions of iOS from iOS 5 to iOS 10.3 beta.

Apple are likely to get a fix for this problem pretty soon and it shouldn't become much bigger than this.

For those who are pretty touchy about their Internet privacy and are worried about sites following them up and down then it seems your savior is here: Enter Mozilla Firefox Focus.

Firefox Focus is a no-frills browser that blocks trackers to keep you from seeing unwanted ads. It also lets you erase your history, passwords and cookies easily.

Mozilla are of the opinion that by blocking trackers it might also improve performance on certain tracker-filled sites. It’s worth noting that some sites that rely on tracking to work may not function properly, but Focus can fix that by opening them in either Firefox or Safari.

What Focus does is help you protect your privacy online, and this browser makes it easier to block tracking than other options.

According to Engadget Mozilla might bring the awesomeness to Android depending on how the iOS version is received.

WhatsApp video calling is now a thing, yes Whatsapp have now joined the likes of Skype and Facetime with their own video calling feature. It was launched on Tuesday and if you update your Whatsapp you should be able to get it. It is being provided for Android, iPhone, and Windows users. Normally all you need to do is update the feature to make your first video call, it could happen though that your iOS or Android device is not set to receive automatic updates, or you are not sure if WhatsApp has been updated, if this is the case, all you have to do is visit the App Store or Google Play and check for available updates. If for some reason you don't see the video calling option, or if WhatsApp video calling is not working, or...(groan) WhatsApp video calls are giving you an error message you can take matters into your hands by downloading the WhatsApp beta version APK to see if things work any better.

Below are the steps to getting Whatsapp Video calling on your phone

Open Google Play and search for WhatsApp

Open WhatsApp's Google Play listing

Scroll dow towards the bottom of the page

In the section that says Become a beta tester tap on I'M IN

Confirm on the next screen and wait for a few minutes

Come back to WhatsApp listing page on Google Play

You should see an option to Update WhatsApp to beta version

Update the app

If that doesn't work for you or you'd rather go another way, you could download the WhatsApp APK that comes with support for video calling (v2.16.354) from a website like APK Mirror or APK Pure. Please note that going this route means you know what you're doing if not it'll be better to just wait till the update gets to your phone.
With the above you should have no qualms getting whatsapp video calling and start making video calls.

Appcake! one of the best tool to ever have on a Jail broken phone. Often times Apps you really want always comes with a huge price and you really don't know if the App would be good for you or will it do what it says. With AppCake you can test the App and then later decide to buy it.So today we're gonna show you how to Download and Install the Latest Appcake on you phone (Android & iOS users).Difficulty: EasyTime: 3mins (excluding downloading time)Device: All iPhone and AndroidRequirement: For iOS it must be Jailbroken. No Rooting needed for AndroidLet's Begin: iOS1) Open Cydia2) Click On Add Source (Go to Sources tab in Cydia, tap Edit and then Add.)3) Type this: cydia.iphonecake.com (Click Add Source)(A warning shows, Click Add Anyway)4) See image below confirming that Appcake Repo has been added to your Cydia Repository.

4) Click on AppCake (Go into the source, then tap All Packages, you should see AppCake)5) Click On AppCake again6) Click Install (See image below)

4) Noticed where i highlighted in 8 blue dotted ? That's the download link to the Zip file. Click Download, it'll take you to the download page hosted on another server.5) You'll have to extract it yourself and move them to their appropriate folder (like the OBB folder).6) DONEBut if you want to APK files, you'll have to pass through Adf.ly links and you can do that by scrolling to the LINKS section and then Download.I know the Android section is quite annoying but that's the stress you go through just because you don't wanna waste money or you're just the Greedy type lol.For iOS users, How To locate AppCake downloaded Apps/Files on PC using iFunBox.Source: iPhonecakePlease Note: Downloading Premium Apps from AppCake is not a legal thing to do however if you want to test the app in FULL before buying then you can download from Appcake and uninstall the app once done. The developer got family and bills to pay plus it took them sleepless night trying to code and design those stuffs just for YOU!

Luxury gift and customization company "Goldgenie" is offering to customize the iPhone 7 expected to be released in few weeks time in 24-karat gold, platinum, rose gold or encrusted with ‘Certificate Quality’ diamonds.

According to Goldgenie founder, Laban Roomes:

We are very excited about the iPhone 7 and have had literally thousands of enquiries asking when our luxury customised range will be launched. Having customised the first iPhone when Apple launched their device in 2007, I predict this will be the best selling iPhone to date and so encourage our customers to not delay in pre-ordering from us when we open our order books later this month with just a 50% deposit to secure this highly anticipated luxury device.

Pre-orders will begin on August 25th with $3100 as deposit..wow!...that is a whole lot of money when converted to Naira (Approximately 1.12m). This could equally buy a brand new car!..you may want to give it a second thought before risking a fortune on this.

Apple could very well debut the iMessage for Android at WWDC 2106 sources say.MacDailyNews reports Apple plans to announce iMessage for Android at Monday's WWDC 2016 keynote event, a move that could significantly expand the service's footprint. This is one we take with a pinch of salt as the publication isn't really known for its accuracy when it comes to Apple news, but the rumours have been flying around so it remains to be seen.Apple it seems is trying to build out its software services offerings by extending support beyond devices running iOS and OS X, the source said. While no mean feat, adding Android compatibility to iMessage would be relatively straightforward as the product's backend resides in the cloud.

If Apple can pull this off they'll be giving their customers access to a trusted — end-to-end encrypted — messaging service compatible with a majority of the world's .smartphones. If the users have a taste of iOS design and security it could cause them to turn.So we wait till Monday to see what really happens

Apple has finally released an iOS update to fix a pretty pesky bug that was transforming 9.7-inch iPad Pros into unusable slabs of glass.

The new update, version number 9.3.2, will fix whatever software issue was bricking the tablets, and it can be downloaded over the air today.

Users complained about seeing a message that read "Error 56." when using the 9.3.2 and this prompts you to plug the device into iTunes so it can be restored and this did absolutely nothing to fix the problem that was rendering the iPad Pro useless.

For those who have already their iPad Pro to the latest version of iOS, then this update is redundant. But if not, you can go to the "General" section in Settings and try the download again.

It might initially give an error on the first try, but don't let this deter you, just try again and a new 9.3.2 will start downloading and then install.